Fools We All Were
by Ace715
Summary: With the new transfer student in the city, everyone thought he was just another ruffian due to the rumors of his criminal record. But what no one expected was for the very fabric of what they thought to be real to crumble down, and with him leading the way for many others known as the Phantom Thieves.
1. Author's Note

_Note: this is purely fanfiction going through the main storyline along with side quests. I personally have yet to play the actual game yet found interest in watching others play to the point a fanfiction shall be made from my love of the characters, story, and artwork. Dialogue, designs, and mechanics shall not be changed at all with the acception of having some added to fit you, the reader insert, in. Also, if the new character is not to your liking, I apologize but will not change it due to this being for my own amusement in the present of me writing it, and future of reading back on it, and is made based on what I know best to try and make them as real as possible like the rest of the cast, and unique to the rest of the game to keep them interesting. This is my best attempt to try and capture the beauty of the work created by Atlus with my own added spice. A new character, map, and persona type with their own personas shall be added just to try and keep this as lore friendly and to make sure no two characters have the same persona card (otherwise I'd have the reader have the moon persona, since after careful analysis by both me and my friends, that is the card for me, but Mishima is the bearer of that card and do not want to steal his spotlight since he is precious, as is the rest of them)._ _But back to the story, I sincerely hope that you find some entertainment in this, and disclaimers shall be bellow._ _I do not own any rights to Persona 5 or any other game in the series, for that the rights go to their creators in Atlus. However, any form of fanfiction by me in the form of (reader: first and last name), their persona (which I made to be under the Moon card, but since I have no idea, I'm just going to have this character have it too), the Eclipse card, and any other made up Persona under that card, as well as any interaction they have with the world and other characters._


	2. Prolouge: Escape

**_Prolouge._**

 ** _Escape_**

The rawr of a far away train sounded off in the distance. With a head turn, your eyes shined with alertness underneath your black mask till they dulled with realization that it was of no concern. Your head back to their original task, the soft whir of a helicopter outside filling your ears as well till the deafening ringing of constant bells filled the air of the building to drown out any outside noise or the cheers and groans of those winning and losing at the rigged machines of the cassino. Murmurs from the clueless people bellow filled the halls when the alarms quieted down.

Looking out the window of the security room the sight of a blur of a black coat and head of hair dash from light fixtures above the crowd deftly. A smirk danced across the your face before it quickly fled at the sight of three security guards entering the room calmly and collectively. You knew it was only a matter of time before Joker would be seen. But then again, that's what they wanted.

With that thought across your mind, (iris color) eyes caught a glimpse of the white masked man looking down at the crowd, one red gloved hand gripping a pole holding the light up while the other secured the steel case cradled under his arm.

"Up there!" a bystander gasped, making more people as well as the three suited men look up at where his attention was.

"Just as planned …" you whispered to yourself knowingly.

"He's here. Moving in immediately" the middle man said into his earpiece, the three closing in towards Joker's position, wading through the crowd of people. With a knowing smile, the pale teen turned on his heels and leapt away and onto another platform.

"Good. Now get running!" a high voice ordered, the pitch that of a child and yet the tone that of a serious adult.

'That was Mona,' you thought.

"This is our only chance!" another rang through the earpiece, also male, yet older- that of a young adult or late teen.

'And Skull.'

"Stay calm!" a female reminded before giving the next line as a notice. "You can get away now!"

'Panther is just as pushy as always, I see.'

"We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end." a calm voice offered before another voice came in statics.

'Ah, and Queen.'

"...suspects...not...confirmed...hold...your...position…"

"Hm..? What was that…?" Panther asked with confusion and worry.

"Don't worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!" Mona replied.

With the signal the teen began to glide from fixture to fixture effortlessly.

"But I have to say," Mona started, "showing yourself above that crowd earlier was an excellent move."

"Looked cool too," you butted in before pushing open the door, peeking out to check for anyone searching for the others.

"Nice work as always, Joker." he agreed.

"I bet Skull wouldn't pull it off that smoothly." the confident voice of Panther said into the comm, earning a chuckle.

"This happens because you have no sense for aesthetics." a smooth, new voice explained towards Skull, yet was met with shouting from Joker's end.

"There he is!"

"Hey, you!"

"Just run! Get out of there!" the girl smack talking Skull earlier snapped. Mona, however, was less worried about the situation and was already forming a plan to the rest.

"Ok, the enemy's focus is on him. Looks like the rest of us can slip away."

"Everyone remember where we're meeting up?" a kinder voice asked, however her tone was more assertive instead of its usual kindness she was known for when first met, yet still caring, like that of a mother talking to her children who were going off to play.

'Noir,'

About to open their mouth to speak after peaking around a corner to be met with a feeling of forgetfulness, another woman's voice seemed to answer their unspoken prayer.

"No worries, I can guide you all."

You couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief before your comment of gratitude. "Thank you, Oracle."

"Not a problem, (code name)." she spoke, a smile heard in her voice.

Your eyes flared with blue flame, the world becoming dull and void of color. Passing through an open balcony, you looked across to see a blonde in red cat mask and matching skin tight suit look down bellow. (iris color) eyes followed her own blue ones to see the sight of Joker surrounded by three security guards, each of them twisting and writhing silently with cracking bones till their forms darkened and become inhuman, sinister looks. Gooey black skin, purple masks hiding any upper facial features and only revealing the glowing yellow eyes of shadows. Security clothes were tinted differently from either the lighting of the lights, or the distortion around them from their transformation.

"Get 'em, Joker!" Panther shouted into the ear piece, yet the heightened senses of the palace allowed you to hear her from across the large open space above the utter chaos on the ground floor.

At her call, Joker leapt into the air gracefully- showing off, no doubt- to reposition himself to a more ideal standing among the enemy monsters, which happened to be on the shoulders of one of them. His red gloved fingers wrapped around the edges of the mask to tear it off, met with animalistic screams of anger and pain, the one leapt upon stumbling forward as Joker daftly glided off, watching the form darken into black goo and fall into a puddle on the ground after exploding from the form's chest that followed the insides once they were all gone. The good reformed on the ground into the shape of a monster- a bull head and muscled torso and arms attached to a robotic snake-like lower body to replace the legs- the creature wearing a fancy shirt of a sorts, yet that was unimportant.

Not enough time for such a thing, you continued on their way as the voice of Oracle helped ease you worries about your shared friend. "Comparing power levels … No threat. Get 'em, Joker!"

It only took a minute before Oracle spoke again. "Ok, pull out before backup gets here."

"Good," Mona applauded. "You defeated them with ease!"

A gasp came from Panther's end, and at first you were about to turn on your heels to help when you realized it was not for her safety that she did so. "More of them?! Be careful!"

Of course, that made sense. She was the other person watching that, and she was the kind of person who would stay a little longer to see if it turned out alright.

"Joker, behind you! Go through that door! (code name), turn right and up the stairs to meet up with Fox."

Following the girl's directions, you dashed up the stairs, the large double doors opening as you neared to reveal a blue suited, white masked man, his mask an antique fox mask painted white and with red designs. He nodded to you as you entered the same hall as him, the both of you running out towards the other flight of stairs.

"You should be able to get out that way! Hurry!" the ear piece rang, a slight hum from both you and Fox next to each other with feedback, but not like it would be with phones, thankfully.

"Dude, can you even hear us?!" Skull asked.

"Don't worry, I'm picking up everyone's voices. Just go, Joker!" an answer came.

Skull let out a huff before the sound of his teeth gritting entered your ears. "Tch! We got away from a bunch of those guys in black, but they're still loads more of 'em …"

"Up ahead! Stop!" Oracle snapped, making both you and Fox freeze, in case it was you two she was talking about. "This is bad. Hide, Joker!" You swallowed a lump in your throat with both worry about Joker, yet also relief it was not you and Fox who were about to run into a trap- or worse.

"You'll never get away if you just keep fighting," she continued, however it seemed that that first sentence she said was directed towards more than just a single person. "Hide in the shadows, and sneak past when you see an opening!"

Silence soon covered the building from both your ear pieces and the far off rooms, which was odd. You felt your stomach become heavy, especially with what Oracle said next.

"Is something wrong? The exit should be up ahead."

"They're there." Joker explained. The corner of your eye caught sight of Fox glancing at you, your worried gaze turning to him to see a similar thought had crossed his mind.

Oracle sighed.

"I see how it is. With all that commotion the bottom floor is completely closed off-" she cut herself off with a more uplifting, hopeful tone. "Hey, can you make it?"

A chuckle came from Joker's end just before the muffled shouts of warning from agents.

"See ya!" he said, yet from your current point of view it was hard to tell whether those playful words were directed towards one of your guys or the agents. It was always hard to tell with him, yet you didn't have time to question it when the sounds of shattering glass filled your ears, making your eyes widen in surprise. Just what the hell was he doing?

Oracle, however, met it with amusement. "Hmph. Show off." she got that right. "Your so reckless, you know that?"

"Oh, I think he knows," you said, trying not to show your worry. You couldn't help it- despite the short time you had known one another, you felt like everyone in the Phantom Thieves was your friends- no, family. You all had each other, but what would happen if one of you were gone? You didn't like that thought, and pushed it aside. But then the nearest window framed by a concrete wall covered in posters saying "our enemies" and things along the lines flashed a blinding light, making you and Fox freeze for a moment, then dash for it to see what happened.

"Enemies here?!"

"What's wrong?!"

"He's reading … it can't be!"

"What happened?!"

"An ambush? Joker, can you handle this?"

That was when the sight hit you. Hundreds of police officers pointed their pistols at the white masked, black coated teen surrounded by shattered, painted glass. Car beams hit his form to cast a large, dark shadow behind him, and whether Joker's face was pale from shock or just the light you couldn't tell, nor could you care. He was in trouble, and despite what you and the others wanted to believe, there was very little chance, if any at all, that he, you, or anyone else could hope he'd make it out alive if he tried anything.

"Joker!" Fox shouted next to you, his voice ringing in your head in echos from both your shock, your ear piece, and him beside you.

You, however, were too terrified to be able to say anything, or even bother to make out whose voices were whose.

"Capture him!"

"Go go go!"

"He's over there!"

Your eyes followed him sprint off in an attempt to escape as the hoard of officers- holding shields up to protect themselves of anything, ran after him, shouting, yelling at him and their fellows. Joker jumped up to grab at a ladder at the side of the building, and despite it brought up to keep people from using it, he was able to reach it and pull himself up to use it. You could make out the confident expression on his face, and for a moment you thought he was about to make it, that this would be just another one of the many close calls one of you has had. But when your eyes climbed up the ladder ahead of him, you saw the glint of the search lights on weapons and glass visors for helmets and shields.

"Joker, no!" you screamed, but it was too late. As soon as his cocky face looked up to where he was headed, he froze, a gun only a mere inches from his face. His gasp echoed through your ears, and you saw the officer at the ladder opening shift his grip on the gun merely to smack Joker's mask with the butt of his gun, a grunt coming from both of them as Joker's grip was lost and his form fell into the mass bellow. You could hear the wind get knocked out of him from your ear piece and his in put mic, and the muffled words of orders and triumph of the people outside as they closed in on him.

"Still struggling."

"Suspect secured."

"To expect to find some kid …" a far more, calm, deep, yet arrogant voice said. "You have your teammate to thank for this."

"What?!" you gasped.

"You were sold out."

You couldn't see what was happening, since Joker was now drowned in the sea of the recon team that captured him, yet the only thing your mind was what that one man said- no matter how soft and quiet do to distance from the mic or your own pounding head.

Someone sold you out.

But who?

"Suspect confirmed. Cuff him!"

Your fists clenched and became pale from your tightened grip cutting off blood circulation as you heard Joker gasp in pain. They were making sure to be as rough as possible with him, for what? Just because he was a 'Phantom Thief'? A hero of justice? Sure, he and the rest of you were all vigilanties, but you were helping them- everyone, even! So why …?

Why would anyone- especially one of your own- sell you all out?


End file.
